Port-au-Prince
A true city of the developing world, just an hour by air from Miami, Port-au-Prince is preceded by a reputation for impoverished chaos, even before the 2010 earthquake literally shook it to its foundations. The infrastructure is compromised, the gulf between rich and poor remains as wide as ever, and the quake’s rubble and tent camps are acquiring a terrible sense of permanence.
And yet, the city remains one of the most vibrant and exciting in the Caribbean. Like a bottle of local klerin rum, Port-au-Prince takes all the raw energy of Haiti and distils it into one buzzing shot, and witnessing the self-sufficiency and spirit of its people might be the most life-affirming experience you will have on your travels.
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Champs de Mars
The once-neat order of Champs de Mars (pronounced Chanmas) is the starkest reminder of the damage wrought by the earthquake. A series of parks split by wide boulevards that collectively make up the Place des Héros de l’Independence, with the Palais National at its center, this broken heart of Port-au-Prince is no longer a place to linger – its wide spaces have been replaced by a series of sprawling tent cities.
The most potent symbol of destruction is the ruined Palais National. The focus of national politics, and traditional host to coups d’état, it had already been destroyed during political unrest in 1869 and 1912. January 12, 2010 laid it low for the third time – its beautiful white domes collapsed like a clumsily dropped wedding cake.
Several statues of Haiti’s founding fathers dot Champs de Mars: Toussaint Louverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Alexandre Pétion and Henri Christophe. Of these, only the horse backed Dessalines, high on his plinth, is currently visible above the tent camps. The Marron Inconnu, the iconic statue of an unknown slave blowing a conch-shell trumpet, is similarly beset. The only monument that stands apart and untouched is Aristide’s bicentenary statue – an ugly gray monolith resembling an oil derrick. The 2004 coup meant it was never finished, nor is it likely to be.
Champs de Mars speaks strongly of the travails of post-earthquake reconstruction. At the time of research, the remains of the Palais National had not yet been torn down to allow rebuilding to commence. The state of the tent camps – and hopefully the re-appearance of the statues of the revolutionary heroes – will provide a barometer for future progress.

Musée du Panthéon National
A modern, mostly subterranean museum set in its own gardens. The unusual design echoes the houses of Haiti’s original Taíno inhabitants; a motif repeated by the conical central ‘well’, bringing light to illuminate the gold monument that recreates the cannons and banners found on the national flag. The bodies of Haiti’s founding fathers are interred below, and the names of other heroes of the independence struggle are marked on the surrounding walls.
The museum’s permanent exhibition chronicles Haiti’s history, from the Taínos and slavery to independence and the modern era. There are some fascinating exhibits. Exquisite Taíno pottery faces the rusting anchor of Columbus’ flagship, the Santa María; slave shackles nod toward a copy of the fearsome Code Noir that governed the running of the plantations; while the silver pistol with which Christophe took his life leads past Emperor Faustin’s ostentatious crown to ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier’s trademark black hat and cane. A further gallery holds a good cross-section of modern Haitian art, but it suffers from poor labelling.

Atelier Atis Rezistans
While most of Haiti’s artists are repre-sented in the rarified air of Pétionville’s galleries, a collective of sculptors and installation artists is producing spectacular work in the unlikeliest of settings, squeezed into the cinderblock houses backing onto the mechanics and body workshops on Grand Rue. The Grand Rue artists are unlike anything you’ve seen in Haiti, turning scrap and found objects into startling Vodou sculpture. The results are a heady mix of spirit, sex and politics – a Caribbean junkyard gone cyberpunk – but also very much grounded in the preoccupations of daily Haitian life.
André Eugène is the founder and elder member, sculpting in wood, plastic and car parts to produce his vision of the lwa (Vodou spirits). Dolls’ heads and human skulls abound, alongside the earthy humor of highly phallic Gédé pieces. Jean Hérard Celeur, another of the artists, trained as a sculptor, and has done many of the largest pieces: life-sized statues of twisted wood and parts of car chassis, hubcaps, old shoes and a liberal application of twisted nails.
Local children are also involved in making art, through the spin-off organisation Ti Moun Rezistans.
This hub of creativity is near Ciné Lido, set slightly back from the road. Look for the giant Gédé statue made from car parts and with a giant spring-loaded penis guarding the way. Just beyond this, Eugène’s house-museum is surrounded by statues, with the motto ‘E Pluribus Unum’ (‘out of many, one’) hung over the door.

Marché en Fer
Several of Haiti’s cities have iron markets, but Port-au-Prince’s is the original and best. The Marché de Fer is an exuberant red-metal structure dating from 1889, which looks more akin to something from the Arabian Nights than tropical Haiti. It was originally destined to be the main hall of Cairo Train Station (hence the minarets), but was bought by President Hyppolite as part of his plan to modernize Port-au-Prince.
The Iron Market burnt down after the earthquake, but has been magnificently and speedily restored, reopening on the one-year anniversary. The southern hall is the food market, a full-on assault on the senses; the stifling air buzzing with the noise of traders and the tang of fruit, vegetables, meat and unknown scents. The northern hall is given over to a giant craft market, with the biggest selection of local arts in the country. The market is especially rich in Vodou paraphernalia.

Fermathe
The small town of Fermathe is 13km above Pétionville. The main attraction is Fort Jacques (admission HTG25; sunrise-sunset), erected during the burst of fort-building following independence in 1804. Built by Pétion and named for Jean-Jacques Dessalines, it was slightly damaged in the 2010 earthquake. The ruined Fort Alexandre is a short walk away. Overlooking Port-au-Prince, they offer grand views. The forts are a 3km walk from the main road – take the sharp uphill road opposite Fermathe’s covered market.

Pétionville
he suburb of Pétionville was founded by President Boyer, although it never became the replacement capital he hoped for. Urban sprawl has long since incorporated Pétionville into greater Port-au-Prince, but the district has maintained its own identity as the center of gravity for Haiti’s elite, and a hub for many businesses and banks.
Place Saint-Pierre is the heart of Pétionville; at the time of research it was home to a post-quake tent camp. The action flows downhill from here, with streets laid out in a grid (surprisingly well signed for Haiti). This is where you’ll find the best restaurants, galleries and upmarket shops. At the bottom of the hill a chaotic street market spills along Rue Grégoire toward Rte de Delmas.

Kenscoff
The cool of Kenscoff makes it a popular weekend destination for city dwellers – at 1980m above sea level, it’s often referred to as the Switzerland of the Caribbean (there are even a few weird Caribbean–Alpine archi-tec-tural hybrids). With sweeping views every-where you look and the brooding cloud-capped backdrop of Massif de la Selle behind you, it’s tailor-made for day walks. Coffee and vegetables are grown in great quantities here, giving Kenscoff an interesting local market.

Furcy
To continue to the smaller and even more picturesque village of Furcy, turn left at Kenscoff Commissariat, then right after the fast-food places and continue uphill. Locals will rent out horses here (around US$3 per hour), making it easy to reach the Bassins Bleu waterfall, 1½ hours above the village by foot. Continuing on from Furcy, you reach the entrance to Parc National la Visite, from where you can hike over the mountains to Seguin. Whatever your plans, don’t forget some warm clothes – temperatures drop once the sun starts to dip.

Parc National la Visite
The Massif de la Selle, a series of spectacular ridges still dotted with pine forest, divides Haiti’s southeast. You can do one of Haiti’s best hikes here – a day of trekking that takes you across the western section of the mountains toward the Caribbean. The route traverses four mountains and takes in some truly beautiful terrain, from wooded slopes to almost-rolling green hills, as well as lovely views out to sea. Once you reach Seguin you’ll find the weird kraze dan (broken teeth) rock formations – great slabs of karst jutting up from the ground like so many discarded giant dentures.
A decent degree of fitness is required to do the trek, which usually takes six to eight hours. Take plenty of water and some food, as well as suitable clothing: the altitude ascends above 2000m in places, so there can be strong sun and wind, as well as unexpected rain and chill. You won’t always be alone on the trek, however; although this is rugged terrain, the route is also a well-used pedestrian highway, travelled primarily by women on their way to market, balancing produce on their heads. The sight of foreigners walking for fun always seems to raise a friendly smile.
To reach the trailhead, take a taptap from Pétionville to Kenscoff, and change for Furcy. From there, you can walk to Carrefour Badyo, then bear left to follow the track to Seguin. By 4WD, it’s a 15-minute drive to Badyo, and then you have to start hiking. Once at Seguin, you descend to Marigot (a further couple of hours), and from here it is a taptap ride to Jacmel (US$1, one hour). At Furcy it’s possible to hire horses with guides, but you’ll have to pay for the return trip from Seguin.
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Croix-des-Bouquets
Almost sucked in by Port-au-Prince’s inexorable urban sprawl, Croix des Bouquets is the setting for one of Haiti’s most vibrant art scenes. It’s Noialles district is home to the boss fé (ironworkers), who hammer out incredible decorative art from flattened oil drums and vehicle bodies.
Croix des Bouquets’s metal-art tradition was begun by the blacksmith George Liautaud, who made decorative crosses for his local cemetery. In the early 1950s, he was encouraged by the American De Witt Peters to make freestanding figures and incorporate Vodou iconography into his work. The result was an explosion of creativity, with Liautaud and his apprentices creating a uniquely Haitian form of art: carved iron. Although Liautaud died in 1991, his legacy is the thriving community of artists in Croix des Bouquets.
Steel drums are the most common material for the art. They’re cut in half and flattened, the designs chalked and then cut out with chisels. Once free, the edges are smoothed and relief work beaten out. The smallest pieces are the size of this guidebook; the most gloriously elaborate can stand over 2m. Popular designs include the Tree of Life, the Vodou lwa La Siren (the mermaid), birds, fish, musicians and angels.

Saut-d'Eau, Arrondissement de l’Arcahaie, Haiti
In 1847 a vision of the Virgin Mary in Ville-Bonheur drew pilgrims, who were convinced of its healing abilities, to the town. A church was built on the site of the vision, but local devotees soon spiritually associated it to the nearby waterfalls of Saut d’Eau, which was sacred to Erzuli Dantor – a lwa often represented as the Virgin. As a result, both Catholic and Vodou adherents now make the pilgrimage in huge numbers. A Catholic mass is said in the church and a statue of the Virgin Mary is carried around town. Vodou pilgrims then trek 4km to the Saut d’Eau waterfalls, a series of shallow pools overhung by greenery, where they bathe in the sacred waters, light candles and whisper requests to those lucky enough to become possessed by Erzuli herself.

Parc Historique de la Canne à Sucre
At the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution, the Plaine du Cul-de-Sac was one of the richest parts of Saint-Domingue. Little remains of this period, but one important sugar mill constructed at the end of the 19th century now stands as a museum. Exhibits are mainly open air, surrounded by low colonial-style buildings that comprised factories and shops, plus a collection of sugarcane presses, boilers and part of the aqueduct used to drive the mills. There’s also a train for the narrow-gauge railway laid to carry sugarcane to the factories.
The park is also a popular outdoor venue for music concerts, and every October hosts the Artisanat en Fête, Haiti’s largest crafts fair. Held over two days, artisans gather from across the country, along with Haitian fashion designers and food producers. There’s live music too.

Forêt des Pins
When you’re sweltering in Port-au-Prince, the idea of cool mountain pine forests can seem a world away, but driving three hours east to the Massif de la Selle near the Dominican border can have you pleasingly reaching for another layer to ward off the cool.
The road is very poor as it winds up the mountains, but the views are spectacular. Sadly, it’s also a textbook illustration of deforestation and erosion; many towns beyond Forêt des Pins are regularly damaged during hurricanes. Although the forest is nominally protected under law, cutting for wood and charcoal continues to be a problem.
From Fond Parisien on the Croix des Bouquets-Dominican Republic highway, the road turns south. It’s a 50km drive to the village of Fond Verettes (which has a market on Tuesdays), and as the road climbs the climate gets colder and mistier. Four hours’ drive from Port-au-Prince, the park entrance is just beyond the suitably named village of Terre-Froide. A checkpoint for the Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development (MARNDR) is here. There is no entrance fee to the park. Just past the entrance, there is a cluster of basic cabins (US$11 per person). Pre-booking with MARNDR is advisable, and you should be self-sufficient down to your (warm) bedding. The village of Forêt des Pins is a short walk beyond the cabins and has an interesting Saturday market.
The park is perfect for hiking. The denser parts of the forest are cool and tranquil, with birdsong and sunlight filtering through the trees. Good hikes from the park entrance include the gentle 5km walk to Chapotin, where views stretch to the sea, and to Lake Enriquillo in the Dominican Republic, or the stiff climb to Do Gimbi ridge for more fantastic views of the mountains, forest and sea (around four hours’ walk round-trip). You’ll meet plenty of locals on the tracks along both routes, so you shouldn’t get lost.
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Côte des Arcadins
From Port-au-Prince, Rte National 1 stretches north along the coast before turning inland toward Gonaïves and Cap-Haïtien. The area is named for the Arcadins, a trio of sand cays surrounded by coral reefs in the channel between the mainland and Gonâve.
The first main town after leaving the capital is Cabarete, ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier’s modernist construction, built as a symbol of his regime and ruthlessly satirized for its pretensions in Graham Greene’s novel, The Comedians. Look out for the merchants selling delicious local tablet (peanut brittle) to passengers in passing vehicles. Just beyond is Arcahaie, where Dessalines created the Haitian flag from the rags of the Tricolor in 1804.
Beyond Arcahaie are the beach resorts. The beaches themselves aren’t too inspiring, but they offer safe, shallow swimming and snorkelling in clear water. On weekends they come alive with visitors from the capital; it’s worthwhile booking accommodations in advance.

Jacmel
Sheltered by a beautiful 3km-wide bay, the old port of Jacmel is one of the most friendly and tranquil towns in Haiti, and host to one of its best Carnivals. Part of Jacmel’s charm is down to its old town centre, full of mansions and merchants’ warehouses with a late-Victorian grace poking out from behind the wrought-iron balconies and peeling facades. Unfortunately, many of these buildings were damaged in the 2010 earthquake. Jacmel as a whole was badly hit by the earthquake, with as many as 500 people killed, and many buildings destroyed.
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Old Jacmel
Running parallel to the seafront, Rue du Commerce is the heart of old Jacmel and has many splendid (albeit shabby) examples of 19th-century warehouses and merchants’ residences. Key characteristics are the high-shuttered doors and windows, shaded by wide balconies with filigree railings. Of these, the house of the influential Vital trading family has been turned into the Hôtel Florita. At the eastern end of the street are some of the oldest surviving buildings, including the Customs House next to the wharf on Place de la Douane, and the 18th-century prison.

Bassins Bleu
Bassins Bleu is tucked into the mountains 12km northwest of Jacmel, a series of three cobalt-blue pools linked by waterfalls that make up one of the prettiest swimming holes in the country.
The three pools are Bassin Clair, Bassin Bleu and Bassin Palmiste. Bassin Clair is the most beautiful of the three, deep into the mountain at the bottom of the waterfall, sheltered and surrounded by smooth rocks draped with maidenhair and creeper ferns. Local kids may delight you by lunging into the pool from the higher rocks. You’re sadly less likely to see the nymphs that according to legend live in the grottoes, although be warned that they’ve been known to grab divers attempting to discover the true depth of the pool.
Any guide in Jacmel can arrange a trip to Bassins Bleu, which takes about two hours each way, usually by horse. Expect to pay around US$20. The road is accessible by 4WD and (when it’s dry) by moto-taxi. There is a small hamlet close to the pools, where you pay the entrance fee (US$2.50); a local guide then escorts you to the pools. The path is a little uneven, and at one point you must climb down a steep rock face (with carved footholds) by rope. From here, you’re ready to dive in.
While the mineral-rich waters of Bassins Bleu are a delight at most times of the year, they turn a muddy brown after heavy rainfall.
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La Saline Beach
The beachfront along Jacmel is sandy but also a little dirty – it’s worth making the effort to head a little further out to enjoy more pleasant surroundings.
The closest beach is La Saline, a small cove that’s a 30-minute walk from the town centre past the cemetery (25HTG by moto-taxi). If you’re lucky, you might find a fisherman here who’ll catch and grill you a lobster and sell you some cold beer to boot.
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Baguette Beach
You can also arrange a lift from La saline (or from Jacmel’s wharf) across the bay to this large sand-and-pebble beach of Baguette (30 minutes by boat), where there are also ruins of an old French fort.
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Plage Raymond-les-Bains Beach
This is another long stretch of sand, with palm trees and mountains as a backdrop. It can get crowded at weekends, although eating freshly caught seafood here surrounded by holidaying Haitians can make for a great time.
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Plage Ti Mouillage Beach
In the small fishing village of Cayes Jacmel, about 14km east of Jacmel, the beach spreads a further 3km to Plage Ti Mouillage, a gorgeous white-sand stretch fringed with coconut palms, plus a beach bar for drinks and seafood. Cayes Jacmel is known for making the rocking chairs seen throughout Haiti.

Les Cayes
You’d be hard-pressed to find a sense of urgency in Haiti’s fourth-largest city. More popularly known as Aux Cayes, Les Cayes is an old rum port sheltered by a series of reefs that has sent many ships to their graves. Les Cayes is laid out in a grid. Rte National 2 turns into Ave des Quatre Chemins upon entering the town, bisected by Rue Général Marion. Two main roads lead south from here to the town center – Rue Nicholas Geffrard and Rue Stenio Vincent. The former leads to the wharf, while the latter takes you to the main square and Notre Dame Cathedral.
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Île-à-Vache
The so-called ‘Island of Cows,’ Île-à-Vache lies about 15km south of Les Cayes. In the 16th century it was a base for the Welsh pirate Henry Morgan as he terrorized Santo Domingo and Colombia. Three centuries later Abraham Lincoln tried to relocate emancipated black American slaves here, but it was a short-lived and ill-provisioned experiment. The island today is scattered with rural houses, plantations, mangroves, the odd Arawak burial ground and some great beaches.
The only accommodation options are two contrasting upmarket resorts, although some islanders in the village of Madame Bernard have been known to rent rooms to foreigners.

Port-Salut
A picturesque road leads west from Les Cayes to the spectacular beaches of Port Salut. A one-street town strung for several kilometers along the coast, the beach is the main reason to come here: kilometers of palm-fringed white sand with barely a person on it, and the gorgeously warm Caribbean to splash around in.

Camp Perrin
At the foot of the Massif de la Hotte range en-route to Parc National Macaya and Jérémie, Camp Perrin is where the tarmac stops: from here roads are rough and bumpy. The town is little more than two streets with a few shops and bar-restos. It was founded in 1759 by the French, who left behind a network of irrigation canals. A different watery attraction not to be missed is the beautiful Saut Mauthurine waterfall (‘les chutes’) with its deep green pool, a 15-minute moto-taxi ride away.

Parc National Macaya
he 5500-hectare Parc National Macaya contains Haiti’s last region of cloud forest, spread across the mountain ridges of the Massif de la Hotte. It has an extremely rich biodiversity, particularly birds and amphibians, with a high number of endemic species. One in every 10 plants is only found inside the park, with orchids notably represented. The near-permanent cloud cover brings around 4000mm of rain per year.
Macaya has several potential treks. The most challenging, taking four days there and back, is to the top of Pic Macaya (2347m). You must cross over a 2100m ridge and descend another 1000m before attempting the mountain itself. The trails are barely existent, so a knowledgeable guide and a machete to cut the way are both essential.
The main starting point for entering the park is Formond. You’ll need a 4WD with high clearance, a couple of spare tires and at least four hours. Along the way you’ll pass the overgrown Citadelle des Platons, one of Dessalines’ network of defensive forts built after independence.

Jérémie
érémie, the capital of Grand Anse Départment, is about as close to the end of the road as you can get in Haiti. The journey here amply demonstrates its isolation, although the terrible mountain road is under improvement. Once here, it seems to fulfill the cliché of a forgotten tropical port, with abandoned warehouses, little traffic and a sense of torpor in the air.
By contrast, Jérémie has a rich history. In 1793 it was the landing point for Britain’s short-lived invasion of Haiti. After independence it was a major center for mulatto power, and its inhabitants grew rich on the coffee trade, sent their children to be educated in Paris and wore the latest French fashions. Jérémie was known as the ‘City of Poets’ for its writers. Its most famous sons are Alexandre Dumas, whose son wrote The Three Musketeers, and the poet Emile Roumer. In 1964 the town was the focus of an attempt to overthrow ‘Papa Doc’ Duvalier, who responded in murderous fashion by ordering the massacre of virtually Jérémie’s entire mulatto population of around 400 men, women and children, leaving the city politically and economically isolated.
Jérémie is a sleepy, pretty place to spend a few days. The town is centered on Place Alexandre Dumas, with its red-and-white cathedral. Rue Stenio Vincent runs parallel to the sea, with many interesting old buildings and coffee warehouses, almost all sadly neglected. Continuing past the grubby beach takes you to Fort Télémargue, a crumbling fort that makes an excellent spot to watch the sunset.

Anse d’Azur Beach
A gorgeous sandy bay with several caves that any Caribbean country would envy. A return moto-taxi will cost around US$3 to US$4.

Pestel
The port village of Pestel is four hours east of Jérémie along the Grand Anse coast. It’s a charming place once you’re here, with its French fort, old wooden houses and some of Haiti’s most wonderful (and wonderfully untouched) beaches. The main businesses are fishing and charcoal. The easiest way to get to Pestel from Jérémie is by boat (US$7), but they’re often worryingly overloaded. There’s daily transport, but the road is terrible.

Cap-Haitien
Haiti’s second city feels a world away from the throng and hustle of Port-au-Prince. During the French colonial era it was the richest city in the Caribbean, and even if that grandeur has long since faded, the city still maintains a relaxed atmosphere, and the old port architecture of high shop fronts and balconies makes it a pleasant place to wander. Most people refer to the city simply as ‘Cap,’ or ‘O’Kap’ in the high-lilting local Creole accent of its residents.
Despite its rich history, there is still plenty of poverty in Cap-Haïtien, although recent efforts to improve municipal facilities are slowly beginning to have their effect.
There isn’t too much to do in Cap-Haïtien beyond enjoy the atmosphere, but it’s an ideal place to base yourself to enjoy the nearby attractions, including the Citadelle la Ferrière and the beaches around Plage Labadie.
Cap-Haïtien is centered on Place d’Armes, a wide square between Rues 18 and 20 guarded by a large statue of Dessalines. It’s a popular hang-out for students from the Roi Christophe University, on the south-east corner of the square. The Cathédrale Notre Dame otherwise dominates proceedings, an airy white basilica with abstract stained-glass windows.
The earthquake of 1842 left few colonial-era buildings in Cap-Haïtien, and its streets are now lined with an amalgam of styles. Most common are the old commercial buildings, with high shop fronts and tall shuttered doors and windows. The floors above are residential and support wide balconies with ornate iron railings that give the sidewalks shade at almost all times of day.
The best architectural gems are in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral. On the corner of Rue 16F is a tremendous (if slightly worn) red-brick Gothic mansion built in 1898, while on Rue 15 behind the cathedral are some charming gingerbread houses. The oldest accessible building is the Hostellerie du Roi Christophe, now a hotel, whose oldest parts were built in 1724.
Like Port-au-Prince and Jacmel, Cap-Haïtien has a Marché de Fer (Iron Market). This forms the hub of commercial activity, with market vendors spilling out in the streets around it and bringing traffic to a halt.

Palais de Sans-Souci
Built as a rival to Versailles in France, Henri Christophe’s palace of Sans Souci has lain abandoned since it was ruined in the 1842 earthquake. The years of neglect have left it an elegant monument, slightly alien against its tropical backdrop.
Finished in 1813, Sans Souci was more than just a palace, designed to be the administrative capital of Christophe’s kingdom, housing a hospital, a school and a printing press, as well as an army barracks.
The palace is approached by a grand staircase once flanked by bronze lions. You enter a series of rooms – the throne room, banqueting halls and private apartments. Although the walls are now bare brick they would have been hung with rich tapestries and paintings, all designed to show that although Haitians had once been slaves, they were now a cultured nation. The palace originally had four stories and huge French picture windows. From his apartments, Christophe maintained correspondences with the Czar of Russia and the English abolitionist William Wilberforce.
Behind the palace are the remains of the King’s and Queen’s ornamental gardens. To one side are the remains of the hospital and, opposite, the old barracks, home to the Royal Corps of freed slaves from Dahomey.
Just above the palace site, a roughly paved road winds up the mountain to the Citadelle.

Citadelle La Ferrière
Haitians call the Citadelle the eighth wonder of the world and, having slogged to the 900m summit of Pic la Ferrière, you may be inclined to agree. This battleship-like fortress gives commanding views in every direction. It was completed in 1820, employed 20,000 people over 15 years and held enough supplies to sustain the royal family and a garrison of 5000 troops for a year. With 4m-thick walls that reach heights of 40m, the fortress was impene-trable, although its cannons were never fired in anger.
Inside the ramparts the fort has a series of drawbridges and blind corners to fox attackers. These lead through a gallery containing the first of several cannon batteries. The Citadelle contains over 160 cannons, mostly captured in battle from the English, the Spanish and the French. Throughout the fort are huge piles of cannonballs – 50,000 in total.
At the heart of the fort is the central courtyard, with its officers’ quarters. Christophe himself was buried here after his suicide – his grave is under a huge boulder that forms part of the mountain. On the level above is the whitewashed tomb of his son Prince Noel. It’s easily possible to spend a couple of hours exploring the site, which constantly reveals hidden passages, halls and new views from its ramparts. Sheer drops protect the Citadelle from every angle except its rear, where you can look south to Site des Ramiers, a huddle of four small forts protecting its exposed flank.
In the main courtyard there’s a small shop that sells postcards and drinks; the caretaker will open it for you.

Dondon St Rafaël
If you fancy yourself as Indiana Jones, head well off the beaten track to the caves of Dondon St Rafaël. This small town surrounded by coffee, cocoa and vanilla plantations is home to a series of caves once used by the Taínos for refuge. From Dondon it’s a two-hour hike up the mountain to the caves (Des Grottes), but you’ll probably require a local guide to show you the way, and possibly rent you a horse. The caves are now home to large numbers of bats, but the Taínos have left their mark on many of the stalagmites, the tops of which have been carved to resemble skulls. It’s one of the most intriguing – and remote – Arawak sites in the country.
It takes a 4WD one hour to reach Dondon St Rafaël from Cap-Haïtien; there are daily taptaps from Rue Lapont (US$1.50, two hours).

Fort-Liberté
Fort Liberté was once one of France’s most strategically important bases in Saint-Domingue, at the center of a wide bay with a natural harbor. Named Fort Dauphin by the French in 1731, a huge fortress was built here, one of several bases that guarded the bay like beads on a string. When Toussaint Louverture captured the port in 1796 he named it Fort Liberté. The area is now economically depressed, the huge sisal plantations it once sustained long closed; donkey traffic is as likely as the motorized version.
Fort Français (the fort’s current name) is largely intact, with its ramparts, batteries and magazines. If the guardian is there, you’ll be asked to pay a US$0.70 entrance fee. The remains of the fort surrounding the Baie de Fort Liberté can also be visited in a couple of hours – the easiest way is by moto-taxi. Fort Labouque and the Batterie de l’Anse are on the eastern lip of the bay guarding its entrance. Between here and the town are Fort St-Charles and Fort St-Frédéric.
The Hôtel Bayaha is the best option if you wish to stay, overlooking the bay. It has reasonable rooms and a restaurant.

Ouanaminthe
A dusty border town, Ouanaminthe is an important trading centre across the Massacre River from Dajabón in the Dominican Republic. It’s alive with small traders hurrying across to the Dominican side to buy goods, particularly on the market days of Monday and Friday. The contrast between the rubbish-strewn anarchy of Ouanaminthe and the paved streets and order of Dajabón is striking.
The border is open from 8am to 4.30pm. On arrival in Ouanaminthe, continue until the road splits in two. The left road leads to the bridge across the river that marks the border; the right to the customs and passport office.
Hôtel Paradis is just about bearable if you get stranded in town. You’re probably better off sleeping in Dajabón if you can.

Gonaïves
At first glance, Gonaïves looks like any other large town in Haiti, but it holds a very close place in the nation’s heart. On January 1, 1804, Dessalines signed the act of Haitian independence here, creating the world’s first black republic, and his wife, Claire Heureuse, is buried in the local cemetery. Gonaïves has played a revolutionary role in more recent years as well – it was rioting here in 1985 that showed the writing was on the wall for ‘Baby Doc’ Duvalier, while the rebel capture of Gonaïves in 2004 marked the beginning of the end for Aristide. Gonaïves was badly flooded in 2008, and its infrastructure has taken a long time to recover.
The town is a handy breaking point when traveling between Port-au-Prince, Cap-Haïtien and Port-de-Paix. Place de l’Indépendence is the town’s focus, with its striking triangular modernist cathedral. In front of this is a martial statue of Dessalines in the prow of a ship, as if willing independence by the force of his presence alone.

Port-de-Paix
Nord-Ouest Department, of which Port-de-Paix is the capital, is the most deforested and arid part of Haiti. The main reason to come here is to visit Île de la Tortue, the sliver of an island that forever seems to be on the cusp of development as the Caribbean’s next big tourist thing. Although the island is covered with rocky hills, it also holds some glorious beaches, particularly the truly gorgeous Pointe-Ouest (although you really need your own boat to get there).
Île de la Tortue is famous for its piratical associations. The contraband heritage continues into the 21st century, as the island (and Port-de-Paix) are well-known smuggling transhipment points to Miami, from duty-free goods to cocaine.
Boats sail every morning from Port-de-Paix to Basse-Terre on Île de la Tortue (US$4, one hour). From here you can get transport to the capital, Palmiste. Unfortunately there is no accommodation on the island.
The Hôtel Brise Marina, just outside Port-de-Paix, is the best accommodation option in the region. Decent rooms have sea views and there’s a restaurant.
There’s regular transport to Gonaïves (US$8, five hours), from where you must change for onward travel.